


You're My Hero

by orphan_account



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Crossdressing, M/M, Nico goes ham, that Hermes kid never saw it comin'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-07 07:58:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4255536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Nico first comes to Camp things go smoothly for a day or two, but when some Hermes kid mouths off about the way Will dresses Nico decides to show them what he's made of, because no one picks on his friends. No one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Begining

Nico always felt like his face was on fire when he was around Will Solace. Not always, only when Will was wearing a skirt. The son of Apollo did that sometimes. Nico thought it was weird, but he didn't say anything about it. Will still acted like a boy, so Nico thought he just liked the feel of the skirts, not like he was really trying to be a girl. Even if he was, Nico would still like him. Will was nice to him.

"Hi, Nico," Will greeted one day. He was wearing a Camp t-shirt and a white skirt that stopped above his knees. He wore sandals too, and his golden blond hair was falling over his pale blue eyes.

Nico felt his face heat up, but waved back anyway. He didn't want Will to think he didn't like him. But he also didn't want Will to think he did like him. The boy made Nico confused. Nico didn't like the way Will smiled and laughed and made Nico feel warm and cozy in his chest, but he did at the same time. It hurt Nico's head to think about. 

"Do you want to play a game with me and Lou Ellen?" Will questioned. 

Lou Ellen was another unclaimed Hermes camper. She slept a few feet away from Nico. She was smiling, wiggling her fingers in greeting behind Will. Will grabbed Nico's hand, making Nico tense and stare at where they were joined. Nico didn't like being touched excessively, but he like holding hands with Will. Nico knew holding hands with a boy was wrong, but Bianca said that boys liking boys was something Nico couldn't help. Bianaca was right about everything, and she wouldn't lie to her brother. She said not to tell anyone because it might not be safe. Some people didn't understand, and that made them scared, and made them violent. But Camp Half-Blood was a safe place. Nico liked holding hands with boys, mostly with Will, and that was okay to do, just like it was okay for boys to like dresses and skirts. 

"I'll play a game with you," Nico agreed. 

Will instantly brightened. He grinned and squeezed Nico's hand a little. Before Will could say what they were playing, a laugh sounded behind them.

"A skirt, really? And you're holding hands? Perfect," a boy their aged mocked. 

Nico turned to him and recognized the boy. He was a Hermes camper, a mean one. Nico couldn't recall his name, but he knew he was a bully. 

"Go away," Will ordered.

Judging from the tight grip Will had on Nico's hand, Will had dealt with the boy before. Lou Ellen was glancing from Will to the boy like she was waiting for one of them to explode.

"So, Willy, is this your boyfriend?" the boy asked.

"No, so go away," Will demanded, dropping Nico's hand like it was toxic, which made Nico feel just a little more hurt than he would like to admit. 

"Leave us alone," Lou Ellen piped up from behind Will. She ducked when the boy whipped his head to her.

"Was anyone talking to you, brace-face?" the boy snapped.

Lou Ellen covered her mouth and looked away. Will turned and hugged her, knowing she hated her braces. 

"Stop making fun of her," Will shouted. 

"You girls and your friendships," the boy commented.

There was now a group gathered around the four ten-year-olds. Some were smiling, others looked as though they were about to step in and stop the fight. 

"I'm not a girl," Will protested weakly. 

"Yes you are, and Unclaimed over here is your boyfriend. You wear skirts and dresses, that makes you a girl," the boy commanded. 

"Will is a boy," Nico corrected, finally finding his voice. "Stop saying he's a girl just because of the clothes he wears. He looks a lot better that you."

All the Aphrodite campers laughed at that one, along with some others who gathered around.

"What do you even want?"

"What do you want? You seem to pay an awful lot of attention to Will. Maybe you like skirts," Nico countered.

"What?" he demanded.

"You keep on saying I'm his boyfriend," Nico spoke. "Maybe you're jealous of how close we are. Do you want to be Will's boyfriend?"

"Shut up!" he yelled.

"I think you like it when he wears skirts," Nico continued, the group of demigods around him laughing and gaping at the arguing children. 

The Hermes boy huffed and turned to leave. As he was stomping away Nico heard him mutter something under his breath.

"What was that?" Nico asked.

The boy turned, donning a smirk. Nico knew he wasn't going to like what he'd hear.

"I said," he began, "I'm not a faggot like you."

Something in Nico snapped. He lunged at the boy and threw punches wildly. Soon he was being pulled off by some Apollo campers. 

"I think we've got us an Ares boy!" he heard someone shout, followed by a few hoots. 

The boy was dragged away holding his hand over his broken nose. Nico felt a pang of guilt. He freaked out over some stupid kid saying some stupid word. Maybe he was an Ares kid. But the guilt was replaced by self-disgust. Will was holding his hand over his mouth as he watched his brothers and sisters heal the Hermes boy. Will probably hated Nico.

Then Will looked at him with an emotion in his eyes that Nico couldn't interpret. Will then whispered something that Nico couldn't fully hear. He was dragged away to the Big House to talk to Chiron when he understood finally what he thought Will said. But that was impossible. Will would never say that to him, not after he just jump on some kid.

Nico softly repeated it to himself, unable to believe it.

"You're my hero."


	2. Facing the Facts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico has to come to terms with the fact that people don't just jump on other people. No matter how stupid the person being jumped on is. Also some cuddling toward the end. I don;t even know, they were standing one minute, cuddling the next. And of course everyone's favorite stalker, Jason Grace.

Nico kicked at the sand as he walked down the beach at Camp Half-Blood. He could remember the beach from five years ago, when he was ten. It was a long time ago. He missed those days, before everything fell apart around him. He would watch the older campers splash in the water with each other and hold hands with Will. 

There was a pang of longing in his chest at mentioning the slightly older boy. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his skinny jeans and sighed. When things got real bad and Nico felt lost and lonely and thought he'd do something to himself he'd regret, Nico would think of Will. Will was always so kind to him, even if he was stubborn and thick-headed, he was nice. Even when Nico had attacked a boy for expressing his opinion. Especially when Nico attacked a boy for expressing his opinion. 

There was also a pang of longing for the skirts. Did Will not like them any more? Did someone make him feel bad for wearing them? Nico suddenly felt the need to break something. A lot of somethings. 

Nico shook the feeling. Lou Ellen said he needed to control his anger. She even gave him two fancy rubber bands for him to snap when he was mad. Nico absently started to pull them, letting them fly back to his skin with a sharp pain he almost needed. The stinging burn they left made him feel calm. Well, calmer, anyway. He highly doubted he'd ever be calm when it came to Will.

"NICOOO!" Cecil yelled. Nico turned to see the boy barreling toward him at an unhealthy yet impressive speed.

Before Nico could move, Cecil had jumped on him, dragging Nico to the ground gracelessly. 

"Nic, Nic, Nic, guess what? Guess what? Guess what?" Cecil questioned, shaking slightly from adrenaline. 

"What, Cecil?" Nico growled, shoving the boy off of him.

Cecil grinned. "Do you remember the first day we met?"

"Uh, why?" Nico asked, brushing sand off of his clothes and resisting the urge to strangle Cecil on the spot. He began snapping the rubber bands again. 

"Do you remember Will's skirts?"

Nico froze. He look down at Cecil, who was ruffling his hair to get the sand out. He looked right back up with a smirk.

"Knew you'd wanna see it," Cecil noted.

Nico pulled Cecil up from the sand and ordered him to show him where Will was. Cecil happily grabbed Nico's wrist and pulled him along. As they approached the infirmary, Nico remembered what Cecil had said about the first day they met. Will wasn't wearing a skirt when they first met, so why would he bring it up? 

Then it hit him.

Or more accurately, he remembered who he hit.

This happy-go-lucky borderline idiot who messed up pretty much everything, who was best friends with Lou Ellen, Will, and Nico, had practically tormented Will for wearing the clothes he liked since he got to Camp Half-Blood. Nico stared at the back of Cecil's head as they continued to Will. Cecil was practically holding his hand, the same thing he picked on Nico for when they were ten. 

"Yes! You got Nico!" Lou Ellen exclaimed, clapping her hands.

She waltzed over to the boys and grabbed Nico's other wrist, tugging him toward the infirmary faster. Cecil smiled at Lou Ellen, and she smiled back. She didn't shy away or cover her mouth like she used to. Nico looked back and forth between his friends. Then he looked toward the infirmary. Will was in a skirt and Cecil was okay with it. At least he seemed okay with it. If he wasn't Nico would have to tackle him again. Anything for Will, really.

Lou Ellen banged on the door to the infirmary. "Open up, we have a Nico with us and we're not afraid to use it!"

"It?" Nico asked in a whisper, so Will wouldn't hear.

She mouthed an apology and waited for Will to open the door.

"Go away, I'm not coming out," Will refused, his voice muffled by the door. 

"Come on, bro, Nico wants to see you," Cecil reasoned. "No ones gonna make fun of you."

Nico shoved his hands in his pockets and though about the old Cecil—the one that would kill to make fun of an unsuspecting kid. Then about this new Cecil, who was comforting a bro in need. He liked this new Cecil a hell of a lot better. Now if Will could just come outside so he could see that skirt, he'd be set for the day.

"You're lying," Will retorted. "Nico probably isn't even out there. And why would he want to see me in a skirt? He probably thinks it's weird."

"He doesn't think it's weird," Lou Ellen assured him in a soothing tone. Nico remembered when Will would comfort Lou Ellen when she was picked on. Will seemed to do a lot assuring, never being reassured. "He was friends with you when we were kids."

"He was just being respectful. Nico didn't want to be rude, he was raised to be kind. He didn't really like me," Will argued, his voice dropping low toward the end. "The only reason he's friends with me now is because I dress like I'm supposed to."

"What do you mean, 'like you're supposed to?'" Nico questioned. "It's a piece of fabric, it doesn't have a gender."

"Nico?" Will yelped. "Is that you?"

"Yes, now get out here before a shadow-travel inside and drag you out," Nico warned.

"Oh, please. You couldn't shadow-travel three feet and into a bush," Will laughed. "You couldn't get in here without passing out, Death Boy, let alone drag me out."

"You callin' me weak, Solace?" Nico challenged. 

The door opened, revealing Will's golden blond hair and pale blue eyes, along with a Camp t-shirt, sandals, and a knee-length black skirt. 

"I'm calling you too brave and selfless for your own good," Will corrected.

Lou Ellen grinned and high-fived Cecil. 

"You look amazing," Lou Ellen told Will.

"Nic isn't runnin' for the hills," Cecil pointed out. "Guess he doesn't think it's that weird, huh?"

The two of them walked off together, Cecil throwing back a threat.

"I better see you in that skirt at dinner, or else!"

Will sighed and shook his head. Then he looked down at his skirt and sighed again—this time longer and heavier, bathed in sadness. 

"I like it when you wear skirts," Nico admitted softly. "And you like it too. It shouldn't matter what other people think."

Will looked up at Nico and gave a small, sad smile. 

"Then why does it? Why do I feel ashamed whenever I wear them? Why does it hurt so much, Nico?" Will questioned quietly, a few tears racing down his cheeks.

Nico didn't know what to say or do. He stepped forward and hugged Will, going on instinct. For a few seconds nothing happened. Nico was about to pull away and apologize when he felt warm arms wrap around him. Will started to sob, gripping Nico tightly. Will started whispering 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' chanting it like it would make everything bad go away. 

Nico lightly pushed Will back into the infirmary, closing the door with his foot. Surprisingly enough, only two campers were there, both sleeping on the far side of the infirmary, and only one Apollo camper was on duty other than Will—a girl named Kayla, and when she caught Nico's eye she nodded and walked to the other side, pulling curtains as she went to give them some privacy. 

Nico sat down with Will on the first bed, drawing the curtain around them after assuring Will he wasn't going to leave him. Nico wrapped his arms around Will neck, as it was the only place he could since Will had Nico's waist in a grip like iron. Nico stroked Will's hair in a comforting manner, trying to get the older boy to stop crying. 

"Shh, it's okay, I'm here for you," Nico spoke soothingly. "I'm here."

Will looked up at Nico, his cheeks blotched with red and his eyes puffy. Nico ran his thumb under Will's left eye, wiping away a few tears. Nico smiled as warmly as he could. Being a son of Hades meant being cold and being alone, so he wasn't very good at the whole 'it's okay, i love you' thing. 

Will buried his head in Nico's neck, pushing them both down into a laying position, Will on top of Nico. He was squashing the poor boy, but Nico could care less. Will kept on crying, but he was quiet, only sobbing every few minutes. Nico rubbed circles into Will's back and told him everything was alright. Everything was silent after that. Will would look up at Nico every once in a while and look back down quickly. Then he finally seemed to muster up the courage to do what he had been thinking about.

He pressed a kiss to Nico's lips, hiding his face in Nico's neck immediately after.

Nico blinked down at Will. He didn't believe it. Nico had never been kissed before, he had never thought he'd ever be kissed. Bianca told him he'd get a boyfriend one day, but he never really believed he much whenever she talked about his sexuality. But here he was, cuddling with a boy who had just kissed him. Years of being without Bianca made Nico think everything about himself and his feelings were wrong, disgusting. And Will felt the same about himself, even though he was the most amazing, gorgeous, stubborn boy Nico had ever met. The mere idea of Will thinking anything bad about himself made Nico queasy. 

Nico ran his fingers through Will's blond locks a few times. Will looked up, more tears spilling out of his blue eyes. 

"I'm sorry," Will muttered. 

Will wiped away his tears, looking down at his skirt and glaring at it like it was all the fabric's fault. 

Nico grabbed Will's chin and made him look back up at him. Nico placed a kiss on the corner of Will's mouth. 

Will blinked, then smiled, resting his head on Nico's collarbone. 

A conch horn sounded off in the distance, signalling dinner. Then Jason burst through the infirmary door, making the curtain fly open, and Jason paused, taking in Will (in a skirt) with his arms wrapped around Nico and Nico playing with Will hair. Will had obviously been crying, and Nico had a faint blush on his cheeks.

Jason smirked, pushing up his glasses. "Lou Ellen told me to get you for dinner but it seems you'll make do here. And you know you have to tell me everything now, right? No skimming, I need details, di Angelo!"

"Go away, Jason," Nico ordered.

Jason winked and flew off to dinner.

"I don't wanna go anywhere, I want to stay here with you," Will complained, making Nico blush.

"Cecil is expecting you to be there," Nico reminded. "And the skirt stays on."

Will sighed and sat up, wiping tears off of his face. "I probably look horrible from all the crying."

Nico sat up next to Will and grabbed his hand. Nico felt himself blush as he stood, pulling up Will with him.

"We can go to my cabin," Nico suggested. "I'll get Travis to steal some plates for food, and some cups. Connor gave me some movies and a DVD player a few weeks ago so we can watch something."

"Why do the Stolls give you so much stuff?" Will asked. He fixed his skirt and turned to Nico. "So, like a date, then?"

Nico blushed even more, but he pretended he didn't hear the question. 

"And then I'll team up with your cabin for Capture-The-Flag. How about it?"

Will rolled his eyes. "I thought you knew me better than that."

"What?" Nico questioned, wondering frantically what he said wrong.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere near anything sharp until you're perfectly healthy," Will stated. "We can stay at your cabin. I need to keep an eye on you."

Will pulled Nico to cabin 13 and they spent the rest of the night cuddling and watching rom-coms that Nico will say he hates until the day he dies.

"Nico?" Will asked.

"Yes?"

"You're my hero."


End file.
